Interviewer: All right, we’ve got the professionals in here from Riverside Theatre We were starting to talk about The Music Man, Do we have Microphones for them? give me a testing. Netanel: Hi, greetings and salutations...I think it works

Interviewer: Why don’t you introduce yourself, please Netanel: My name is Netanel Bellaishe, I know it’s not something you hear a lot, and I play Tommy Djilas in the production of the Music Man.

Interviewer: We looked up a few things about you Netanel: Oh you did!

Interviewer: But before we get into that how do you say your first name again? Netanel: Netanel

Interviewer: Netanel, you have a history of winning television contests? Netanel: I do, Actually I won the Israeli equivalent of “So you think you can dance” In Israel it’s called Born to Dance, but it’s a replica, we even have the “So you think you can dance...dance...dance in the background, I mean it’s the same show.

(Back from commercials, singing Gary Indiana in soprano)

Interviewer: Wow nice job Leo, you can sing too

Interviewer 2: That wasn’t me Netanel: That was my tenor voice

Interviewer: I have sung in a church choir, and I was a dancer at Disney World Netanel: Were you Mickey mouse?

Interviewer: No, Mickey was the little people or 18 year old girls who are relatively short I played evil sherif and a toy soldier, stuff like that, very hot costumes but enough about me, let’s get to the music man Netanel: Let’s do it

Interviewer: What’s the premise of the play? Are we staying true to the old? Netanel: Yeah very much so. Well I would think the play deals with the fact that there’s good in anybody, even the con man can be turned around and be truthful to a love story and happy happy joy joy at the end.

Interviewer: and it’s always full of music Netanel: it is

Interviewer: I heard that originally there were 40 songs written for this and they cut it to 20, that’s a lot of songs, is there much dialog? Netanel: There is but there’s a lot more music you’re right, it’s definitely one of those musical with a lot more songs.Interviewer: We know there’s a con man here, I’ll let you describe it Netanel: Harold Hill, he is the music man, and he a con man that comes to Rivercity and tries to sell a fake band and ends up falling in love with Marion the librarian

Interviewer: Marion the librarian! Netanel: I know, it even rhymes, that’s good writing right there, Which he end up fallingfor, changes his mind and turns into the good guy in the plot

Interviewer: Now what I gather here too is that Marion played hard to get Netanel: She did

Interviewer: And the seems like it created the tension that makes him come back for more Netanel: Well I think she was on to him from the beginning, knowing that he’s a con man, but he got to here anyway, which is probably what pissed her off to begin with, Interviewer: Now how big is the cast here? from what I saw it’s quite huge Netanel: I think about 33

Interviewer: What is your role in the show Netanel: Tommy Djilas he is the hoodlum

Interviewer: Jealous? Netanel: I know it sounds like it but NO!

Interviewer: You sound like Matthew Broderick Netanel: Oh thank you, it’s probably because I have some phlegm Well Tommy is the Hoodlum, the kid who is the trouble maker who I guess is also a nice kid as far as I’m concerned, and he end up falling in love with Zaneeta who is the mayor’s oldest girl.

Interviewer: That’s a dangerous thing is it? Is he really a Hoodlum? Netanel: Well.. A firecracker, how do you call that

Interviewer: I call it a normal friday afternoon, Netanel: So yeah it wasn’t that bad but he was considered a trouble maker, a disturber of the piece.

Interviewer: Do you find yourself getting into the time period? Netanel: I naturally gravitate towards those eras anyway

Interviewer: Are you a bad boy in real life? Netanel: Now I’m just an old soul

Interviewer: So you like the old romantic times? Netanel: yes, I belong to the 50’s, Gene Kelly is my biggest role model

Interviewer: So you were touring with A Chorus Line? Netanel: Right I was with the National Tour of A Chorus Line for 8 months Playing Larry, and Then I actually played Gene Kelly himself in a play called What a Glorious Feeling in Ashland, Oregon, that was telling the story of behind the scenes during the making of Singin’ in the rain, the movie and the love triangle that was there and all the intrigues.

Interviewer: Now that’s very cool! Are you rehearsing on stage now?

Netanel: Yeah currently we are teching the show, the set is amazing! I’ve never seen a set so firmly built before, you can actually live in it.

Interviewer: So how do you get into a show? Netanel: well there is a casting call, you see like a news paper and internet sites, and you go and audition and go as far as you can get, sometimes you book the job and at times you get cut right away

Interviewer: Well it seems to me like you would need to secure your next gig now but you’re in florida, how do you do that? Netanel: Well if you’re lucky enough you book your book your next gig in advance because some production audition fairly early, so you might have a few productions lined up, or you go back not knowing the future, which is the charm of our profession, I wouldn’t live it any other way really

Interviewer: At what age did you get started? Netanel: I started at age 7, my mother put me to dance because my mother and sister did, I wasn’t a big talent and I didn’t really like it, but I stuck around and look what happened

Interviewer: Now I don’t wanna make an assumption, are you Israeli? Netanel: I am Israeli

Interviewer: Grew up in Israel? Netanel: Yep, Grew up and all

Interviewer: How long have you been in the states? Netanel: For two and a half year now

Interviewer: and you came to pursue an acting career? Netanel: Yeah I came to AMDA NY, Studied musical theatre there for about a year and a half then toured right away, did the other show and here I am now

Interviewer: did you start with A Chorus Line Netanel: That was my first job after school

Interviewer: You’re kidding?! your first job you end up with a national touring company. that’s... Netanel: Not Bad, not bad

Interviewer: Not bad at all! So about your TV show, I’m guessing you had to go through a series of auditions to finally get to the judges and then... Netanel: Right, just like here, you do audition intensively before and then there an entire workshop going on for 3 days and then they pick the team, and then the show is about competing in duets and then if you get eliminated you have to do a solo for your life and get the audience to vote for you..

Interviewer: And you won this? Netanel: Yeah I won it

Interviewer: So you’re like a star in Israel

Netanel: Well

Interviewer: No I mean it’s a reality TV show...

Netanel: It is

Interviewer: Were you walking the streets and people recognized you?

Netanel: At the time of the show it was pretty up there.

Interviewer: Now was this a live show?

Netanel: Yeah, Live

Interviewer: Here a lot of the shows are taped, so the people that win can’t say a word to any body for months

Netanel: I actually found out in real time

Interviewer: oh how cool

Netanel: it was pretty cool

Interviewer: That’s excellent So were did you grow up?

Netanel: in a town called Be’er Sheva, that means the 7th well, in Israel

Interviewer: Small town?

Netanel: Yes

Interviewer: can you relate, growing up in a small town to Rivercity?

Netanel: You know it’s funny, as soon as I got off the plane I said hey this smells like Israel same climate, open spaces, so yeah I feel kinda homy here.